My mind wanders with nothing to grip,
No thoughts that stay, no ideas that stick,
A boredom, a gloom, an absence of will,
I look in to my head to find things quite still.
A longing sensation extends in my chest
It strangles my lungs and steals my breath,
I look down in surprise as I hold myself,
Why do I feel so lost and bereft?
I dig deeper to find it is empty and bare,
A falseness, I feel, for I know something’s there.
Under my rib cage and masked by despair,
There’s a heart that is hurting, in need of some care.
I peer through the lens of my own inner eye,
I examine, I probe, I question, I pry,
“What has hurt you today? Oh why do you cry?
Why are you hurting my chest?” I try.
A shrug and a murmur and a sad little sob,
“I’m lonely” she says. “I want someone to love.
I have so much to give, I can promise you that.
But no heart that I know of will love me back.”
I hold my heart in a warm embrace,
“Oh child,” I say, “so pure and chaste,
I love you with all of my being, my soul.
That’s all that you need. Together, we’re whole.”
Sophie Victoria Manley 